Short Fuse
by WillyFourEyes
Summary: Burning out or fading away... Lysithea thought both options were stupid. She had selfish reasons for joining the Emperor's cause, but after they finally destroyed the system and the perpetrators responsible for their shared plight, their efforts would soon bear fruit in unexpected ways. [post-CF, Lysithea/Edelgard] [for FE Femslash February 2020]


Every time I look in the mirror, I think of the life I should have had.

I hold my hands up to the mirror and see perfect, delicate, natural hands. No inscriptions of Crests, major or minor. Just like it was the way I was born.

I can run my hands through my hair without worrying about it fraying or falling out. It also doesn't have that sickly white color to it.

Everything is as it was...before the mages in dark robes came and locked me away.

Before they killed off my family and left me with "gifts" I never asked for.

For the longest time, I was convinced that I was going to die young. To have my flame snuffed out before I was able to make an impact on the world.

If that was the life I was destined to live, then destiny itself was wrong!

I was determined to work as hard as I could to make my mark. Harder than anyone else in the Alliance, the Church, or all of Fódlan.

Very few people knew of my terrible secret. I didn't trust anyone else to avoid taking pity on me for being cursed with such a short life.

Little did I know that there _was_ someone out there who had been through the same monstrous experiments as I had. Someone who was determined to shake the very foundations of the world to ensure that no more would suffer due to the power promised by Crests, and that people like me would be recognized for their hard work, and not because they were born with some phony "gift".

She came to me and asked, "Lysithea...do you pledge your life to the cause of the Empire? To destroy the entrenched systems that grant power only to the already powerful? To help construct a world free of barriers to success?"

I didn't even need a second to come up with my answer.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Even when I silently questioned Edelgard's logic in eliminating the Church of Seiros - the entity that had divided the mainland into three regions that were constantly at odds with each other - I knew it was just one part of a larger, long-term plan.

With the world united as one again, we would have no trouble bringing the entirety of Imperial might down on "those who slither in the dark" - the monsters responsible for ruining my and Edelgard's lives with their vile experiments, as well as those of millions of others.

I stood by Edelgard throughout it all, even as we marched our armies through territory I used to call home. It was bittersweet, but I truly believed that she was doing this for the greater good.

When she told me of secret plans that I only ever saw her speak about with Hubert and the Professor, I knew that I had finally earned her unwavering trust.

Then I thought to myself...was that really all there was to it? Trust?

We knew each other's darkest secrets...things we did not want to share with the world.

We even went to the best physicians in the land at the same time once we discovered the way to undo the curse those snakes put on us.

When we emerged from our sick beds days after that painful procedure - she with chocolate brown hair, and I with midnight black hair - we saw each other as total strangers at first.

"How do I look?" she asked.

I took her by the hand and told her, "You look beautiful."

My voice was still as sharp as ever, but I didn't mean it to be. She really did look beautiful, and I wasn't afraid to tell her that.

"You look beautiful as well, Lysithea," she said.

I should have been embarrassed to hear that from Edelgard. I wanted to curse at myself for laughing so hard when we held each other tightly in our arms.

But I didn't.

I'd never felt happier in my life.

I didn't have to hide from the world anymore. The Emperor saw my potential and trusted me enough to ask for my aid. She saw me for who I was, and not for what someone else wanted me to be.

And I loved that.

I loved that about her.

I loved..._her_?

Yes. There was no doubt about it.

As Edelgard and I spent more time together in meetings, in the dining hall, and on the battlefield, I felt like we would eventually become more than friends. I was no more convinced of this than on the day after the official end of the war.

We met alone in the garden of the Imperial Palace, and she was wearing a smaller, less intimidating crown than usual.

"Lysithea," she said, her voice considerably softer than I remember it, "for years, you and I have walked together as friends and comrades-in-arms. We've trusted each other with our lives, even knowing that one day we could lose them. Today, I'd like to propose a partnership of a different kind."

When Edelgard presented me with a small box containing a jeweled ring, I understood what was happening. She wasn't asking me to renew my commitment to the cause of the Empire.

She was offering _her_ commitment...to _me._

"You don't need to say another word, Your Majesty," I said. "I accept."

Just like that, I took the ring from the box, put it on, and gave Edelgard the biggest kiss I'd ever given her.

It just felt like the right thing to do.

After years of suffering similarly, separately, silently...there was something wonderful about being able to share my joy, my life, and my love - I still don't know if I'll get used to saying that - with the woman whose life I helped save.

Thank you, Edelgard...with all of my heart.


End file.
